Living Simply

Today on Thanksgiving I wanted to share Karmomo’s thoughtful recipe for practicing gratitude. (Read her post here!) It’s a good reminder for me not only today, but everyday to slow down and take notice of the beauty, the little things, and the overall good around me even as things may not be going exactly as planned (or I’m straight up having a bad day!), because, well, from gratitude comes happiness. Continue Reading →

We suited up in full beekeeper uniform, vaguely resembling those of astronauts. And as we approached the hives, the low grade hum of thousands of bees hard at work grew louder and more resonant with each step forward. Removing the first hive cover unveiled a rare glimpse into their world, instantly submersing us into an all out swarming buzzfest. I was nervous at first, but was quickly reassured we were safely protected by our suits and in good hands with my father-in-law (master beekeeper) by our sides, there to talk us through the collection process. Continue Reading →

Lately, I’ve been working on some bigger DIY projects , new marketing strategies for Francois et Moi and also trying to relish every last moment left in summer. So of course something’s got to give and thus I’ve temporarily lightened my posting schedule to three times a week and am feeling pretty darn guilty about it. I love the daily posting schedule, and will get back to it in September, but right now it’s gotten to be overwhelming especially with a full-time day job. Thanks for stickin’ with me during this growing moment for F&M! Continue Reading →

I spend my work days discussing all facets of fabric including performance, construction, aesthetic, dye methods, etc., but rarely am I involved in the physical process of creating or dyeing fabric. A few weekends ago while on a walk around the preserve near our place, Ken and I came across a flourishing mulberry patch, and I got the idea to try my hand at fabric dyeing at home using our foraged mulberries. I didn’t know much about how to actually create the dyes using natural dye stuffs, so I called on the experience of Sweet Paul and Burda. The process is super simple, and the end result is beautiful!

I also experimented with shooting the fabrics in low light for moodier shots. My first foray, and I love how they turned out! Continue Reading →

My friend, Briony, first introduced me to the idea of making butter a few months ago, when we were cooking together at her house, and she mentioned she had made the butter we were cooking with. I love the idea of making things from scratch whenever possible, so of course I was super interested to hear how she did it!

This weekend we made oeufs en cocotte, or baked eggs, for breakfast: an easy (and pretty) thing to make on the fly as you roll out of bed on a Saturday morning. The ingredients are fresh and simple: eggs, milk (or cream!), goat cheese, and herbs cut from the garden. You’ll notice salt isn’t on the list of ingredients, and that’s intentional. These fresh, whole ingredients don’t need the extra boost!

The yolks in this traditional french dish are typically runny, but we prefer to cook them a few minutes longer until just past the runny stage. Either way, this delicious and easy petit déjeuner will help you start the weekend off right!

Sometimes I think the best days are the ones that evolve naturally with little or no planning or calculation to them. And the following Saturday after we came back from Europe happened to be one of those days. I woke up early that gloomy Saturday morning, made a pot of french press and made myself comfortable with my laptop. It was an amazing trip abroad, but I was glad to be home nestled on our sofa and slowly working back into the everyday. I jumped on Pinterest between emails and blog planning and decided I wanted to cook something–it had seemed like forever since I’d done anything in my kitchen! We had picked up Boursin Cheese on our first stop at the grocery store, so I thought it would be fun to make something to go with it. Continue Reading →